Box or can



no. 625,625. Patented may 23, |a99. 4 L. c. wlTKowsKl'.

BOX 0R CAN.

(Application med Dec. 6, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shed 1.

INVENTUR:

TH: :mams PETERS co, moh'urun., wAsmNGmN. u4 c,

NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS C. WITKOVSKI, OF VASHINGTODLDISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE CROWN SELF-OPENING CAN COMPANY, OF WEST VIRGINIA.

BOX OR CAN.

SPECIFICATION formingl part of Letters Patent NO. 625,625, dated May 23, 1899.

Application led December 6, 1898.A Serial No. 698.454. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: not having a removable outer cover. Fig. 12 Beit known that I, LOUIS C. WITKOWSKI, a is a perspective View of a can ot' the same citizen of the United States,residing at Washconstruction as shown in Fig. l1, but in the ington, in the District of Columbia, have inact of being opened. Fig. 13 is a vertical vented certain new and useful Improvements longitudinal section through a portion of the 55 in Boxes or Cans; and I do hereby declare can, showing the same construction as reprethe following to be a full, clear, and exact desented in Fig.,1l. Fig. 14 is an inverted plan soription of the invention, such as will enable View of the cutter. Fig. is a sectional others skilled in the art to which it appertains View showing a modified form of pivoting thero to make and use the same. cutter to the tagger-v top, and Fig. v16 is a 6o My invention relates to improvements in slightly-modied form of the construction boxes or cans which are provided with thin shown in Fig. l1. permanent covers, generally termed tagger- A in the drawings represents a box or can tops,and which are designed for keeping the which is provided on its outer surface near r 5 goods packed in the same herinetically sealed its upper edge with an outwardly-extending 65 duringtransportation and the invention conprojection c and with a permanent thin top sists of a novel arrangementot' a knife or cutor cover B, sometimes termed a tagger-top. ter which is provided on the tagger-top and The box or can is also vprovided with a re- Which is designed to cut out the tagger-top movable cover C, Which closely fits said can 2o when desired without the use of an auxiliary and rests with its lower edge upon the pe- 7o cutter. A ripheral projection ct. An arm D is pivoted In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis in lthe center of the tagger-top, as at d, and a perspective View of a can constructed in extends to nearly the periphery of the can. accordance with my invention and provided The arm is pivoted to the can i-n any suitable with a permanent tagger-top and aremovable manner, either by a pin passed through the 75 cover. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through tagger-top and through an eye d in the arm the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a cut- D, said 'pin being bent over to hold the said ter designed for use on a circular can. .Fig arm in place, or the arm may be pivotally 4 is an enlarged detail view showinga means secured to the tagger-top by forming a slight i 3o of securing the cutter to the tagger-top withdepression in the upper surface of the tagger- 8o out piercing the same. Fig. 5 is a top plan tin, as at cl2 in Fig. 4, and soldering the pin View of asquare box or can with myimproved in position in said socket, said pin being cutter applied to the same. Fig. 6 is an enformed with a head d3 for that purpose. By larged top plan view of the style of cutter this construction the tagger-top will not be which is employed on a square box or can. punctured or pierced in any manner, which 85 Fig. 7 is a vertical section through the hanmay be a preferable construction to the one dle portion of the arm carrying the cutter and first described, as it is very important that showing the means of attaching the cutter to the goods in the box or can should be kept the handle so that the handle and cutter will hermetically sealed, though I do not believe l 4o be capable of revolving independently of the that the first construction Would admit of any 9o arm. Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of air getting intothe can, for the reason that the outer end of the cutter-arm-when conthe solder used in securing the pin d in posi; structed for use in cutting out a square can. tion would entirely seal the aperture made in Fig. 9 is a detail plan viewot the handle porthe tagger-top. tion, similar to the construction shown in Fig. The arm D, which is the one designed par- 95 6; and Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the knife ticularly for a round can, is made preferably or cutter in detail, similar to the construction in the manner'shown in Fig. 3, in which conshown in Figs. G and 7. Fig. 1l is a perspecstruction it isstamped out of a single piece tive View of another modified form of my inof suitable material, with its outer end turned 5o vention particularly designedfor use on cans downwardly to form a cutter E and having roo to form these portions into a handle they can 5 be readily turned u p by the lingers ofthe operator, as the material would be sufliciently thin to readily admit of this; but when the box or can is provided with a removable cover, as C, the portions d4 d4 can be turned up during the process of manufacture and left in said raised condition, as there will be sufficient space between the top of the tagger-tin and the under side of the removable cover to admit of this. While I prefer to coustruct the arm D and cutter E all in one piece, yet it is obvious that the cutter might be constructed separately from the arm and suitably secured thereto7 in which construction end with a circular aperture d, as clearlyshown in Fig. S. The handle portion d10 in this construction .is made separate from the arm and is provided with a narrow longitudinal slot du, having preferably square corners.

The knife or cutter E is constructed prefer- 1 ably as shown in Fig. l0, its shank or attaching portion being slit downwardly, as ate.

In securing the knife orcutter to the handle i and arm portions the split shank is passed vertically through the said arm and handle portions from the under side and the split portions turned over, as clearly seen in Figs. 6 and 7, by which construction and arrangement the knife or cutter' will be rigidly attached to the handle and capable of being turned thereby and will be free to turn in the aperture olfin the arm. limit myself to the exactmanner of securing the knife or cutter to the arm and handle portions, as it is obvious that the construction might be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, the same consisting of a revoluble cutter in combination with a lon gitudinall y-ad j ustable pivoted cutter-arm adapted to operate on a square box or can.

The advantage of pivoting the knife or cutter directly to the tagger-top over providing the knife or cutter on the removable cover is that with my construction and arrangement it is not absolutely necessary to employa re- In order to accomplish this, Il

I do not wish to movable cover, which fact reduces the expense of manufacture, and in my construction, where a removable cover is employed,

should the same become detached from the can before it was opened the cutting operation would not be interfered with, which would not be the case if the cutter were provided on the removable cover. The taggertop B may be provided with a pocket h, as shown in Fig. 2, for the reception of the knife or cutter during transportation. This pocket would be stamped in the top, but not through the same, andwould be deep enough to receive the knife or cutter and allow the same to be practically flush with the upper surface of the top, so as not to interfere with packing one can on top of another, and also avoid any liability of the cutter being accidentally forced through the tagger-top. It is obvious that by locating the pocket or recess on the upper horizontal surface of the tagger-top when it is desired to cut out the latter it can be accomplished by giving the `knife a rotary movement without necessarily lifting the cutter out of the pocket. I regard this as a very important feature of my invention, as it enables me to `prevent the tagger-top being accidentally punctured by the knife during transportation in a most perfect and simple manner. The formation of a pocket for the reception of a handle would not be necessary where a removable cover, as C, is employed. The tagger-top may also be provided with a slight depression b, which extends all around the can and is of less depth than the pocket b or the cutter, and which would be useful in guiding the knife in its cutting-out operation.

My invention differs' materially from an auxiliary cutter, which is not pivoted on the tagger-top, but is ladapted to be applied to a can having a tagger-top and rotated to cut out the same, as in such a construction great inconvenience and annoyance are experienced by the purchaser in always having the cutter handy and also by the manufacturer in attaching or shippingv such auxiliary cutters.

In Figs. 11, l2, and 13 I have shown another modiied form of my invention. A detail view of the cutter employed in such construction is shown in Fig. 11i. struction the armcarrying the cutter is made longitudinally adjustable for a purpose now to be described. The arm is constructed of two members f f'. The member f is stamped or punched downwardly to form a cuttingpoint f2, and beyond the cutting-point it is extended to form an operating-handle f3. The inner end of this member f is turned over to form guides f4. The member f', which is pivoted to the center of the tagger-top, is

l formed with lateral extensions f5, which engage the guides f4 on the member f and prevent the separation of the members, and also allow the outward adjustment of the said members. The downwardly-extending cutting-point f2 prevents the separation of the IOO IIO

In this con- IZO members in that direction. TheA memberf' is provided with an aperture f6, which is engaged by a pivot-pin4 f8 on the tagger-top. The tagger-top is provided With a depression or groove f, and the cutting-point f2 rests in j said groove during transportation. When it is desired to cut out the taggentop, the cutting-arm is slightly raised, so as to disengage the cutting-point from the groove in the tagger-top, and the memberfis drawn out until the cutting-pointf2 is at the outer edge of the tagger-top, and the handle portion Will project beyond the outer edge of the can, so that it can be readily grasped between the thumb and foreiinger and the cutter revolved to cut out the tagger-top, as clearly seen in Fig. l2. It Will be observed that the cutter-arm in this construction Will rest flat upon the top of the can and no outer cover is necessary and that a powerful leverage can be secured for cutting out the tagger-top.

In Fig. l5 I have shown the pivotspoint secured to the tagger-top without penetrating the same or by the use of solder. This is accomplished by forming the tagger-top with a raised portion G, inclosing a depression y. The pivot-pin g', having a head g2, is dropped into the depression, and a suitable tool is used to turn over the raised portion G onto the head of the pivot-pin, and thus hold the same securely in place. j y

In Fig. 16 I have shown another slightlymodified form of the construction shown in Fig. 1l, in which a single cutter-arm H is einployed instead of a two-part arm, and this armvis provided with a longitudinal sloth and on its under side with a cutting-point h2, similar to the construction shown in Fig. 1l. The use of this construction will be precisely the same as the construction shown in Fig. l1, and the can Will be provided With a groove or recess to receive the cutting-point. The groove or recess may be in the form of a pocket, as shown in Fig. 2, or it may be in the form of a circle, as shown in Figs. ll and l2, and I Wish myinvention to cover the circle Whether it is arranged con centrically or ec'centrically.

The invention Will be found very useful in shipping tobacco, condensed milk, paint, and other articles Which it is desired to keep hermetically sealed during transportation and before being opened, and to have a shipping box or can provided With means applied on v the tagger-top for cutting out the same.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided With a permanent thin top and a knife or cutter pivoted on said top, substantially as described.

2. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided on its outer surface near its upper edge With an outwardly-extending projection or projections and With a permanent thin top, a knife or said knife or cutter being provided With suitable means for operating the same,and a removable cover Which rests With 'its lower edge on the projection or projections on the body of the can, substantially as described.

3. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top and a knife or cutter pivoted at the center of the tagger-top, said knife orcutter being provided with suitable means for operating the same, the arm of the cutter being pivoted to the taggentop by means of a pin which is secured to the upper surface of the taggertop without puncturing the same, substantially as described.

4. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top and a knife or cutter pivoted at the center of the tagger-top, said knife or cutter being provided with suitable means for operating the same, the arm of the cutter being formed With laterally-projectin g portions which are adapted to be .turned up to form a handle, substantially as described.

5. A box or can comprising in its constructiona suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top and a knife or cutter pivoted at the center of the tagger-top, said knife or cutter being provided With suitable means for operating the same, the arm ofthe cutter being provided with a longitudinal slot which engages the pivot-pin,whereby the knife can be adjusted longitudinally, substantially as described.

6. A square box or can comprisingin its construction a suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top and a knife or cutter provided with an arm having a longitudinal slot which arm is pivoted at the center of the tagger-topby a pin which passes through the longitudinal slot, said knife being also capable of rotary movementindependently of the cutter-arm, substantially as described.

7. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top and aknife or cutter pivoted at the center of the tagger-top, said knife or cutter being provided With suitable means for operating the same, and said tagger-top being provided with a pocket or recess in IOO IIO

which the knife or cutter is adapted to rest during transportation, substantially as described.

8. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion having a permanent thin end in combination With an arm or cutter, said thin end being provided With means for pivoting the knife or cutter thereto and also provided with a recess or pocket for receiving the point of the knife, the construction and arrangement being such that the cutter can be shipped With the can Without liability of puncturing the same and when desired, revolved` to cut open the can, substantially as described.

9. A box or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top and a 1ongitudinally-ad justable cutter-arm pivoted to the can and provided on its under side with a downwardlyextending cutter, the cutter-arm when drawn out projecting beyond the outer edge of the can to form a handle, substantially as de-` scribed.

lO. A b oX or can comprising in its construction a suitable body portion provided with a permanent thin top having a groove or pocket and a longitudinally-adjustable cutter-arm pivoted on the can and provided on its under side with adownwardly-extending cutter, which, during transportation, rests in the groove or pocket, and the cutter-arm, when drawn out, projecting, beyond the outer edge of the can to form a handle, substantially as described. v

11. A box or can having a permanent thin top in combination with a rotatable knife' or cutter, said thin top being provided with means for pivoting the said knife or cutter and also provided with a recess or pocket for receiving the point of the knife during transportation, the construction and arrangement being such that the cutter' can be shipped with the can and be drawn out beyond the outer edge of the can to form a handle, and revolved to cut open the can, substantially as described.

l2. As an improved article of manufacture, a box or can havingaclosed end, the said end being provided with a pivot and a pocket, substantially as described.

13. A box or can having a closed end, and provided with a pivot, which pivot is secured to the said end without puneturiug the same, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS C. WITKOWSKI.

Vitnesses:

EDWARD T. FENwIcK, T. W. RILEY. 

